Musical-instruction device



Aug. 27, 1929. 1. BARNES MUSICAL INSTRUCTION DEVICE Filed Sept. 1925 Zxmra Bye/rm INVENTOR Patented Aug. 27, 1929. 4

UNITED STATES IRVING BARNES, OF WESTWOOD, NEW" JERSEY.

MUSICAL-INSTRUCTION DEVICE.

Application filed September 4, 1925. Serial No. 54,457.

This invention relates to musical instruction devices and more particularly to a chart having musical notes thereon adapted to be mounted on the key board of an instrument, such as a piano or organ for correlating the position of said notes with keys of the keyboard.

An object of the invention is to provide a. practical device of the character described to enable beginners studying music to quickly familiarize themselves with the location of each note on the staves with its corresponding key of the key-board of the piano, organ, or like instrument.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device of the character described which is simple in construction, quickly and easily applied to a key-board, inexpensive to manufacture, and practical to a high degree for the purposes described.

Other objects of this invention will in part be obvious and in part hereinafter pointed out.

Certain features herein shown and described are shown, described, and claimed in my co-pending application Serial No. 744,108 filed in the United States Patent Office on the 17th day of October 1924, and accordingly are not claimed herein.

Vith the above exception, the invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combinations of elements and arrangement of parts, which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter described, and of which the scope of application Will be indicated in the following claims.

In the accompanying drawing, in which is shown one of the various possible illus trative embodiments of this invention,

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the device embodying the invention with the parts unfolded;

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary portion of an upper section portion of the device showing the rear chart with the consecutive arrangement of the sharp and flats of the musical scales;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary perspective View of a portion of the key-board of a musical instrument showing the device applied thereto; and

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of the device showing the rear chart in posit-ion for use.

Referring in detail to the drawing, 10 indicates generally a device embodying the invention which is seen to comprise a sheet of comparatively stiff but foldable material such as card-board or the like, having printed thereon a chart A comprising a bass and treble stafl 11 and 12 respectively, with notes -13 running in consecutive regular rotation from the bass to the treble clef. The notes 13 preferably extend an octave above middle G 14 on the treble staff 12 as shown in F ig. 1. A crease line 15 may be imprinted over and parallel to the treble staff for the purpose hereinafter to appear.

The edge portion 16 of the sheet 10 below the bass staff 11 is proportioned and ruled off into divisions 17 corresponding in width to the keys of a standard key board of a piano, organ, or the like instrument, and has openings 18 formed therein of proper size to fit over the usual black keys 24 thereof. Dotted lines 18 may be provided on the chart to extend vertically down from each of the notes 13 to their corresponding key divisions 17, each of the latter being preferabl lettered adjacent the lower edge of the 0 arts 10 as at 19 to correspond with the musical scale A, B, C, etc. If desired, additional sets of letters 20 and 21 indicating the notes of the musical scale may be printed under each note and below the staves 11 and 12 as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

In order to facilitate handling of the sheet 19, the latter is preferably divided into a plu rality of equal separate sections 22 as for example, four as here shown.

Referring to Figs. 2 and 3, in which is illustrated a practical application of the invention, 23 and 24 denote white and black keys on a standard key-board of a musical instrument. Each section 22 of the sheet 10 is adapted to be folded on the crease line 15 so that the portion 28 of the sheet above the line may be positioned in the rear or in the front of the mid-portion 29.

The lower edge portion 16 is also creased and adapted to be folded on a line 31 drawn through the rear openings 18, said portion 16 being bent at right angles to the adjoining mid-portion 29 which has the staves 11 and 12 thereon so that the opening 18 there in may be fitted over the black keys 24.

The upper portion 28 may be provided on the rear side with a chart B comprising a bass and treble staff 11 and 12, respectively, with sharp and fiat notes 13 running in consecutive regular rotation from the bass to the treble clef, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3.

The sheet sections 22 are applied to the key-board of an instrument, starting at either end, by arranging each section 22 in numerical succession, I, II, III and IV, so as to abut one another and fitting the openings 18 in portion 16 over the black keys 24:, and arranging the mid-portion 29 to vertically upstand from the key-board.

The device 10 as shown in Fig. 1 is for a standard full size range key-board of seven and one-third octaves. Shorter keyboards may, of course, be fitted by cutting away the end division 17 of the sheet section. With the device in position on the instrument and the upper portions 28 folded to the rear of the mid-portion 29 to expose the chart A (see Fig. 2), it is clear that the keys 23 and 2 1 are left free for playing and 7 each white key 23 is conspicuously identified by its corresponding note on the staves 11 and 12, thus enabling beginners to quickly familiarize themselves with the notes and correlated keys. lVith the upper section portions 28 folded in position in front of the mid-portion 29, the chart B is made available for identifying the keys corresponding to the sharp and flat notes 13" on the staves l1 and 12 In using the invention, be inners, by arranging the device 10 with the chart A exposed, are enabled to quickly familiarize themselves with the location of each of the white notes on the staves and its corresponding white key of the key board, and by folding the device so that the chart B is exposed they may concentrate on the sharp and fiat notes and their corresponding keys.

It is to be understood that the charts A and B shown may be replaced or supplemented by others adapted to guide beginners in fingering, major and minor scale practice, and for other well known finger exercises.

It will thus be seen that there is provided a device in which the several objects of this invention are achieved, and which is well adapted to meet the conditions of practical use.

7 As various possible embodiments might bev made of the above invention, and as various changes might be made in the embodiment above set forth, it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawing is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Let'- ters Patent 1. A device of the character described adapted to be applied to a key-board of a musical instrument comprising a sheet having notes arranged'thereon in groups of staves on the front and reverse sides thereof, one section of said sheet being adapted to overlie a portion of the key-board, and other sections foldable with respect to each other for selectively correlating any one of the groups of staves with the keys of said board. 1 v

2. A device of the character described adapted to be applied to a key-board of a musical instrument comprising a flat sheet having notes arranged thereon in groups of staves on the reverse side thereof, a section of said sheet being adapted to overlie a portion of the key-board, another section being foldable for positioning groups of staves on said reverse side of the sheet in correlation with the key of said board. I

3. A device of the character described adapted to be applied to the keyboard of'a musical instrument comprising a flat sheet foldable into a plurality of sections, one section of said sheet being adapted to over lie a portion of the keyboard, another of said sections being foldable for exposing reverse sides of said sheet in view from the front of said instrument.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

' IRVING BARNES. 

